Casters

Chapter 7

"Are we heading to town today?" Charlotte asked. Matilda shrugged her shoulders. She was busy reading her book about plants in France. "It's for my garden," she would say.

Another ordinary day in Roussillon, she thought, I need to look for a school in Provence, too. Charlotte stood up from her bed and went downstairs to look for Aunt Grace.

"Aunt Annalise, is Aunt Grace here?" she asked. "Oh, she is upstairs with Ma." Annalise replied, "why is that, dear?"

"I would like to talk to her about school. I would be in my senior year this year, and I would like to talk to her about a school in Provence," she explained.

"Which school would that be?" Aunt Annalise asked.

"IBS? It's a private school based on what I researched," Charlotte answered, holding out a brochure of the said school. "IBS is an hour and a half away, Charlotte. You'd probably have a hard time traveling there," Annalise said with a frown.

"Oh, I could manage, Aunt Annalise," she reassured.

"Where did you get this brochure?" her aunt asked, "Did they gave these in town?"

"No, I printed this from a local library in town while I was searching for some schools to attend to."

"School? What school?" A voice asked.

Grace walked in and headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of water. "You were talking about a school, niece?"

Charlotte nodded, "I printed the details for you to read." She held out the brochure, but her aunt was looking at her,

"Are you sure you want this school? The travel would be difficult."

"Yes, I could manage, but I want to ask you about dormitories," Charlotte smiled nervously, knowing her aunt would disagree. Annalise and Grace looked at each other after figuring where this was heading.

"If we agree that you would go to this school and would provide you with fast and affordable transportation, would you reconsider your decision of staying in a dormitory?" Grace said. Charlotte let out a wide grin and nodded, "I agree. Could I visit Provence today and check out the school?"

"You could, but only if Blake comes with you," Annalise said. Charlotte stood up and immediately looked for Blake.

Matilda entered the room and said, "I just finished reading my book, Aunt Annalise. Could we start gardening now?"

"Alright, while Raven is working and you both are busy, I will go back to Ma. She's been sick lately after her consistent switching into the oracle," Grace said and left the room."

Annalise turned to Matilda and smiled, "I guess we could start today!"

Matilda clapped her hands and they went outside.

---

"Blake!" Charlotte shouted, looking for him everywhere on their lands.

"Cee? Is that you?" a voice responded. Charlotte turned and saw Blake carrying firewood.

Make sure it is him, ask him what is Matilda's favorite appetizer, a voice whispered. Charlotte was dumbfounded but did so anyway,

"What's Matilda's favorite appetizer?" she asked awkwardly. Blake was taken aback by this and responded, "potatoes. Why?"

It's him. Charlotte was confused but nodded. "I just wanted to make sure it's you. Sorry, I had a sudden urge to make sure I am talking to the real Blake."

Blake laughed and nodded. "You just had a quick hunch considering you are new here. Anyway, why were you looking for me? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened. I was just wondering if you could accompany me to Provence," she asked quietly, "Aix en Provence. I would like to see the school I asked Aunt Grace about."

"Wait, are you going to enroll today?" He asked.

"No, not today. I just wanted to check out the structure and environment. Of course, I want to familiarize myself with the standard and the place..." Charlotte said. It felt awkward for her to invite him.

Blake nodded, "let's go back and get our things." Charlotte looked at him for a while and smiled.

They went home and prepared for travel.

"What are we taking?" She asked while preparing her bag.

"We'll take the taxi to get there in 30 minutes," he replied, "okay, shall we?" He turned and looked at Charlotte, who smiled and nodded. He noticed a faint light underneath her clothes and realized what it was. He decided to ignore it and go on their way.

---

"France is beautiful!" Charlotte exclaimed. They were almost near the private school and were traveling across Provence. "I wish you brought us here the first time, Blake. We could have enjoyed it here and decided to live here instead of settling in Gatlin."

Blake smiled faintly, "we all have our reasons, Cee. Are you sure IBS is your final choice?" Charlotte nodded and went back to looking around the city.

"Arrêtez ici," Blake said to the driver. The taxi halted. "Are we here?" Charlotte asked. Blake shook his head. "Well," he stated, "let's stop for some sightseeing, shall we?" Charlotte agreed and both went out of the taxi. "Merci."

They roamed around the place, introducing Charlotte to shops she could go to and some cafes if she wanted. "How about you, Blake? Where did you attend college?" She asked. Blake frowned at this question. "Well, I haven't been to school since middle school."

Charlotte was surprised by this. "Uncle couldn't have allowed you to end your education like this?" Blake looked at her. "Well, things were hard after the incident, Cee."

"But- ow! Hey!" She exclaimed, tumbling on the floor.

"Je suis désolé! I didn't see you there!" A man said apologetically. He went out of a store and wasn't able to see her.

Charlotte looked up and their eyes locked. She felt like she was being pulled by his energy. There was something about him she couldn't quite put her finger on.

He held out his hands and looked at it for a while before taking it.

"Cee! Are you alright?" Blake asked as he helped her stand up. "I apologize, she is new around here," he explained. The guy smiled and said, "that's alright. Are you here to check out IBS?"

Charlotte's eyes gleamed and nodded, "are you a student there?"

"Yes, I am. I could tell you and your boyfriend all about it," he said and smiled. "Oh no, she's my sister. May we know who you are?" Blake politely asked. "Oh, how rude of me. I apologize. My name is Steven," he said, shaking the brother's hands.

"I'm Blake, and this is my sister, Charlotte. She's in her senior years," he explained. Charlotte smiled as he shook his hand, too.

"Oh, I am also in my senior years," Steven grinned. "Shall we take a walk and see some sights as I introduce IBS to Charlotte?" Blake studied him for a moment and finally agreed to his offer.

---

Tory was walking down the hallway to the council room. As soon as she entered, the doors closed and locked her in.

"Young master," she said, eyeing the throne. She genuflected before she could see his face. No one was allowed to see the young master's face.

"You asked for me, master," Tory said.

"Ah, yes. I have heard some terrible rumors from other Shadowwalkers about your impulsive attacks on our chosen one.

"Young master, we have seen the infractus and encountered a battle with her and her family," Tory said, sensing her master's anger.

"I have told you three that you should never dare start an attack without my command," a voice replied.

"But we wanted to know how strong she is enough to be the chosen one. We noticed she couldn't even cast a single spell nor sense our presence, and-"

"ENOUGH!" The voice shouted, echoing through the walls of the castle. "The plans of the Elemental Posse must never be exposed nor ruined by you insufferable hag. You dare lead the Sisterhood of Ciphers without containing yourself."

"Forgive me, master," she whispered.

"With this, I shall relegate you from your current position," he said.

She stood up facing him, exclaiming "You can't! I have been your loyal follower since the day you took me in as a child. I have trained hard for my role, master."

She took a deep breath and went back to genuflecting. "Forgive my sudden outburst, master. I shall contain myself from this moment on," she continued and shut her eyes, "and I shall be patient until our plan is executed."

"Very well. I trust you realize how certain I was when I assigned you the task to search for our chosen one, yet you disobeyed my orders by stepping over your limitations,

"I will forgive you, this time," the voice said. Tory opened her eyes and smiled faintly. "However, if you disobey me the second time, there would be painful consequences."

"Yes, master," she said. She stood up and left the room.

The young master stood up and went to his console table. He opened a bottle of wine and poured himself a drink. He looked up at a portrait on the wall and whispered,

"Charlotte Alarie..."

---

As the doors closed, she went to the Sisterhood of Cipher's council room. She opened the doors and found her council members were waiting for her.

"Tory, you may be the youngest of us all, the youngest to ever lead the sisterhood, and you couldn't contain yourself nor your anger," and elder commented.

"Here, why don't you pour yourself some tea," another elder said.

Tory sat on her chair and said, "why don't you shut up and lead then, you old hag. You've been getting on my nerves since the day you became a part of my council."

"Tory!," an elder whispered, "calm down. We are here for you. Don't talk to Eli like that."

Eli looked at Tory with her eyebrows lifted, "You may be powerful, but the sisterhood organized by our young master is more than just power."

Tory laughed at this remark, "you have probably forgotten that everyone in this sisterhood joined to follow the footsteps of the evilest caster in history."

Eli was silent after this. Everyone ducked their heads while another member poured tea on each of everyone's cups.

"Has the young master said anything about our plan?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing, Sue. We only need to wait," Tory said, turning her chair around to avoid looking at them.

"Hence, we shall wait."

---

"That was very funny Steven!" Charlotte laughed.

"So, did you enjoy Provence?" Steven asked while he stirs his coffee. After a long day of sightseeing and walking, they decided to take a seat at a nearby café.

"Of course, my brother and I were delighted. It has been a while since we bonded, you see. I grew up in Gatlin while he stayed with my uncle here in Roussillon," she explained. Steven was paying attention to Charlotte's story.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but Charlotte and I have to leave. Our aunts would be furious if we arrive home later than 5," Blake apologized. Steven smiled and nodded, "oh, sure. It's fine. In case you need a friend to talk to and if you need something, you can contact me through this number."

Steven gave her a piece of paper with his number on it. Charlotte was pleased with this.

"Hey, Steven. Before we leave, I forgot to give this to you," Charlotte searched through her bag and handed out a necklace. "I found it on the ground when we bumped into each other earlier."

"That's my grandfather's necklace! I'm glad you found it," he said as he was checking on the stone. "He made this necklace for me before he died It's an amethyst crystal." Charlotte was astonished by what she heard.

Blake eyed the necklace as he noticed the faint light under Charlotte's shirt started again.

Leave, now. Blake sensed.

"We shall take our leave, Steven," he smiled, "thank you so much for welcoming us here in Provence."

"I'm glad I was able to help. I hope I see you soon, Charlotte!" Steven waved goodbye and finally left.

"I feel sick again," Charlotte whispered. Blake looked at her and asked her how she felt. "Just a slight headache. Look! There's a taxi."

Blake patted her head and said, "get some rest once we get home."